


Piano Man

by bonesbuckleup



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, gaila and chapel are bffs, leonard is hopeless without them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 09:49:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1079523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesbuckleup/pseuds/bonesbuckleup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard McCoy has been to every bar in Atlanta, Georgia.</p><p>Or at least that was what he’d thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Piano Man

Leonard McCoy has been to every bar in Atlanta, Georgia.

Or at least that was what he’d thought.

But then Gaila came into work on Monday morning gushing about this guy she’d met in this bar that just opened up. ‘The Good Lady Enterprise.’

“It’s a real nice place, Leo. I’m surprised you haven’t been. It seems like the kind of place you’d lurk.” Gaila’s pointing her spoon of mash potatoes at him and Leonard looks up from his chicken salad sandwich (it’s bland, but they work in a hospital so bland is a damn sight better than ‘I don’t actually know what that is’) long enough to raise an eyebrow.

“I don’t lurk.”

“You do a bit.” Chapel adds as she walks past their table, and Leonard loves them both, really he does. They’re the best nurses in this hospital and he’d be lost without them, not that he’s ever going to tell them that, but whoever introduced the pair of them surely didn’t realise the terror he or she was unleashing on the world.

“See! With this grumpy look on your face as well, it’s why they don’t let you down in the paediatric ward anymore. You scare the kids.” Gaila continues, still gesturing with her spoon. Leonard watches as a bit of potato lands in another nurse's plate. “But anyway, the drinks are cheap, the music is good, and the people are lovely. You should go, take Jocelyn, get drunk, and get laid. For God’s sake please have sex. I’m _begging_ you.”

“Why are you so interested in my sex life?”

“You’re nicer when you get fucked. Not nice enough to be allowed back onto peads, but in all fairness you did make that girl cry.”

“I was having a bad day. Besides, there’s no chance of that if I take Jocelyn. She still needs ‘space’.” Leonard can feel himself gritting his teeth even as he says it, and the whole idea of there being anymore room for Jocelyn to have space in their marriage is ridiculous. He spends more time sleeping at the hospital than he does at home. He only goes home because of Joanna.

“Jocelyn’s a dick. Go anyway. If only because you drink like a fish and need another watering hole.”

“You make me sound like an alcoholic.”

“You are a bit.” Chapel walks past again and Gaila gets up and leaves with her with a ‘just _go_ to the damn bar Leo’ and Leonard is left wondering if they practice their timing, or if it just comes naturally.

He’s not sure which idea is creepier.

\--

Eventually though, Leonard does end up visiting the bar.

At the end of his shift on Thursday he sends Jocelyn the customary “I’ll be home late, don’t wait up.” text and ignores her reply asking if he really thinks she still waits up for him as he makes his way across town using the (rather bad) directions Gaila had scribbled on a napkin for him at lunch as she all but screeched in his ear.

_“It’s called The Good Lady Enterprise. You can’t miss it. Well you can but whatever. Tell Scotty I’ll call him tonight okay? Seriously Leo he’s such a cutie, you should’ve seen him.”_

_“I’m sure he’s a real catch. Give me my pen back.”_

It’s a small place, tucked away at the end of a small street. It really doesn’t look like any of the places Gaila goes to, with its brown brickwork and dirty windows, but there’s a hand painted sign saying ‘The Good Lady Enterprise’ and there’s a chalkboard resting near the door declaring ‘the drinks are cheap and the bartenders hot, come on in!’

When he walks in it’s not quite as small the outside suggested, but it’s still smaller than most bars in the city, some of the room being taken up by a small stage with a piano on it.

But it’s warm and Leonard can see his favourite brand of bourbon behind the bar, so he sits down and pushes the thought that he’s sitting alone in a bar at 7pm on a Thursday.

“You’re new.”

He’s trying to read the name of one of the drinks on offer (he’s pretty sure it’s in Russian, which is kind of weird) on the board behind the bar, so it takes him a few seconds to realise he’s being spoken to.

It takes exactly one second for Leonard to realise the board outside was right on at least one thing, the bartender is beautiful, with her dark hair pulled back into a high ponytail and eyeliner sharper than some of the scalpels Leonard uses to cut people open.

“Uh yeah, my friend, Gaila? She said the drinks were cheap and the people were nice so here I am.”

“At 7pm? On a Thursday?”

“…Yep.”

“That’s kinda sad. I’m Nyota. First drink is on the house.” Nyota smiles at him and puts a glass in front of him, and Leonard just raises his eyebrows at her.

“Are you giving me a pity drink?”

“Yep. What do you want?”

“Bourbon, please.”

Leonard wonders if it’s okay to be a little bit in love with someone for giving him free drinks out of pity.

The Russian on the board catches his eye again as Nyota turns around to put the bottle of bourbon back, and Leonard has to ask, “Are you serving Russian drinks?”

“What? Oh. That.” Nyota reaches under the bar and pulls out something that looks an awful lot like a crown made of flowers. “Once a month one of our waiters get drunk and makes a cocktail for the menu. He went for the flower power theme this time, apparently I have to give out a flower crown every time someone orders it.”

“And the Russian?”

“He’s very proud of his home country. You said you had a friend who came here? Gaila?”

“Oh yeah. Uh, really pretty, bright orange-y hair, she met a guy called Scotty, who apparently I’m meant to give a message to. I don’t suppose you know who he is?”

Judging by the way Nyota’s face lights up in a grin, she does.

“He works here, but not tonight. We don’t usually have all that many people in on a Thursday so it’s just me. I can pass a message on though.”

“Alright. Gaila says she’s going to ring him tonight, so just tell him to keep his phone on hand or something.” Leonard shrugs, because he’s done his duty as a friend, and really, trying to understand Gaila’s dating just isn’t worth the effort.

Nyota fires off a text and then before he knows it, it’s past midnight and the bar is closing (he ignores the fact that even as it got later, not many people besides him decided to visit the bar) and he’s spent all night talking with Nyota, and discovering that the drinks, or at least the bourbon, is in fact, quite cheap.

Apparently the bar’s been open six months and the menu consists of sandwiches, the basic drinks you can get at any bar, whatever drunken Russian waiter cocktail it is that month, and whatever they feel like serving that week.

“You should come on a Friday, or a Saturday. Most of the staff are actually in then, and there’s music. The guy that plays the piano is really good, but he’s also a dick so don’t tell him I told you.”

“Would he be the same dick that wrote that sign?” Leonard gestures to the chalkboard and Nyota turns away from locking up to look.

“Yes. Yes he is. At least he isn’t using it to try and get phone numbers this time.”

Nyota doesn’t let him leave until he promises to come back at the weekend ‘like everyone else’.

When he gets home he doesn’t even bother to go to his bed, just grabs a blanket and settles down on the couch.

It’s not like Jocelyn will notice.

\--

“So did you like it?”

Leonard is hands deep in the chest of a man, working on freeing him of stomach cancer.

He probably shouldn’t be enjoying it as much as he does.

“It was nice, quiet though.”

“You did go on a Thursday. Because you’re weird.” Gaila points out, and you’d think no one had ever visited a bar on a weeknight before.

“Shut up. I already said I’d go back on a Friday or something, and you got your phone call didn’t you?” Leonard looks up when Gaila squeals at him, nodding her head so fast Leonard’s worried she’ll break something.

“We’re going on a date. He’s going to teach me how to make moonshine.”

“How is that _not_ weirder than me going to a bar on a Thursday?”

“Because her face doesn’t make small children cry.” Chapel offers from her place beside him.

“I’m going to ban you both from my OR.”

“No, you won’t. You’re lost without us.” Leonard doesn’t have to look up to know they’re doing that weird nodding in sync thing. It’s really fucking creepy.

“I hate both of you so very much.” 


End file.
